| Eric Van Helsing † | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Occupation: | Teacher, Vampire Slayer |
| Species: | Breather |
| Gender: | Male |
| Family: | Mina Van Helsing (wife) Jonathan Van Helsing (son) |
| Skin color: | Brown |
| Hair color: | Black |
| Eye color: | Dark Brown |
| Aliases: | Dad Mr Van Helsing |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Appearances: | First Day At School to |
| Portrayed by: | Terence Maynard |
"I am Van Helsing, vampire slayer"
- Eric Van Helsing
Eric Van Helsing was a highly trained yet useless vampire slayer and woodwork teacher. He and his son, Jonathan Van Helsing, have appeared in almost every episode of Young Dracula since they first appeared in First Day At School.
Personality
Eric Van Helsing has a strong passion for vampire slaying which during the first series make his son think he's insane. He also shows a fear of vampires as he fears for the saftey of his son and later his ex-wife.
Eric is also protective of his ex-wife. This is shown when the count takes a liking to her during the second series (although she thinks Eric is insane for believing that vampires are real until the end of series two when she finds out that he was right). He is kind, supporting and passionate towards those he cares about and tries to keep them away from the vampire menace.
Series 1 & 2
An incompetent vampire slayer, Mr Van Helsing originally believed Robin (due to his unruly dark hair and constant wearing of a black cape) to be one of the Undead, but soon turned his attentions towards Vlad. His daytime or "cover" identity is as a woodwork teacher at Stokely Grammar School, which the Dracula children attend. While not a real threat to the much stronger and smarter Count Dracula, he is a constant annoyance to the family who under no circumstances can afford to have their secret revealed to the world. Van Helsing has been inside the ruined castle where the Draculas live on numerous occasions. He has inveigled his way in, disguised as an itinerant woodworker, as an exterminator, and as a hitman hired by Magda. He has even attempted to get in dressed as a female vampire. He only once has come close to slaying Dracula at the hunt ball in the final episode of series one. Even that was accidental, when he fired a wooden crossbow bolt straight into a flask of poisoned blood in the Count's waistcoat pocket, which he had also been responsible for putting there (while disguised - badly - as the female vampire). After the hunt ball, Eric continues as before, but in partnership with his son Jonathan, though he is seemingly less eager now that Jonathan believes, perhaps realising the irregular relationship and the danger of his situation; he even tries to send Jonathan to live with his divorced wife in one episode. In another episode he starts packing away the equipment in his "Secret Slayer Hideout" (which is revealed in series two); but when Vlad accidentally hurts Jonathan, Eric feels insulted and regains his enthusiasm for slaying. He only slays two vampires during the series when rescuing his ex-wife from the clutches of the Count, and afterwards engages in a fierce battle with other vampires who are guests at the castle, before forgetting their existence thanks to Vlad. To start with, Van Helsing was continually put under pressure by Jonathan to stop slaying and live a normal life. He took no notice of this, however, and nurtures an obsession for slaying bordering on addiction.
Series 3
In Series 3, his son and wife return, but it is revealed that he was killed by vampires while helpless, after Vlad's mindwipe caused him to forget how to fight back. His family, understandably, blames Vlad for this.
Family Tree
Eric's family tree
| Sir Manly Van Helsing † | |||||||||||||||
| Unknown | Porfiria Van Helsing † | ||||||||||||||
| Abraham Van Helsing III † | |||||||||||||||
| Noris Van Helsing † | |||||||||||||||
| Eric Van Helsing † | Mina Van Helsing | ||||||||||||||
| Jonno Van Helsing | |||||||||||||||
See: Van Helsing Family
Relationships
Jonno Van Helsing
In the first series Jonno, who does not believe in the existence of vampires, is very embarrassed by his father. At the end of series 1 Jonno comes to realise that they exist. Jonno is still seen to be more reasonable than his father, preferring to take direct action. When Jonno's mother arrives Jonno is the one who tries to bring his two parents back together.
Mina Van Helsing
Eric is shown to love his wife dearly. In series 2 it's obvious that Mina rejected Eric because of the unfortunate stigma associated with vampire slaying. She did not believe in the existence of vampires and, as a psychotherapist, she believed that vampires were all in his mind. At the end of series 2 she is faced with the reality that the Count and his family are vampires. She tells him that she is sorry she didn't believe him.
Trivia
- Eric is descended from Abraham Van Helsing III, a character who shares his name with a vampire hunter from Bram Stoker's novel Dracula.